Plans are to build an 11,000-square-foot, two-story emergency department on the west side of New Milford Hospital, facing Treadwell Avenue.

"We're investing in a quality environment to continue our delivery of future-focused emergency medical care for our community," said Deborah Weymouth, WCHN senior vice president and executive director of New Milford Hospital.

Paul Scorza, chairman of the zoning commission, said the public hearing held last week had been attended by a large number of hospital representatives but included no public comment either in support of or in opposition to the project.

The public hearing was kept open for response to zoning officials' questions and for the hospital to present engineering details of the project.

Architectural details were presented Tuesday, according to Sharon Ward, the Zoning Commission secretary.

Ms. Burnham is an engineer with Milone & MacBroom, advisers to the zoning commission.

"She had concerns about traffic flow from the Poplar Street entrance/exit for ambulances onto the four-way intersection at Elm and Route 202," Mr. Scorza noted.

Hospital officials told the commission the present Poplar Street egress onto Route 202 is being examined for improvement with the new construction designs.

If approved, once the construction were to be completed in 2014, the emergency department would be accessed by car from Elm Street, an alternative considered safer than trying to navigate the busy intersection at Elm Street and Route 202, Ms. Weymouth said.